The Best Credit Cards for Large Purchases from Our Partners

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Are you looking forward to making a large purchase? Perhaps you are upgrading your kitchen appliances, buying a new big screen television or taking a dream vacation. No matter what you are buying, it's important to consider the right credit card for your purchase.

Here are some credit cards that you should consider using for your next large purchase:

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card

Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card from Citi, a Credit Cards Explained advertiser, is the ideal card for making a larger purchase that you plan on paying off over time. This card offers an industry leading 21 months of interest free financing on balance transfers made in the first 4 months and 12 months interest free financing on purchases, so you have plenty of time to pay for your purchase before the standard interest rate is incurred on any remaining balance. After the intro period, 14.24% - 24.24%* (Variable) based upon your creditworthiness*.

The card offers strong purchase protection policies including extended warranty coverage that adds a year to your manufacturer's warranty of up to five years on purchases up to $10,000. It also offers damage and theft protection for up to $1,000 per item for losses incurred within 120 days of purchase (90 days for New York residents). There is no annual fee for this card.

The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express

The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express, a Credit Cards Explained advertiser, has many of the features that you should look for when making a larger purchase and want to earn rewards. The card offers points in American Express’ Membership Rewards program. 3x points are offered on up to $6,000 spent each year at supermarkets, 2x points at gas stations, and 1x elsewhere.

But when you use your card to make 30 or more transactions within a single statement period, you earn an additional 50% bonus on the points earned, so it's possible to earn at least 1.5 points per dollar. These points can be particularly valuable when transferred to frequent flyer miles with one of the 16 different airline transfer partners. Finally, this card offers purchase protection, return protection and an extended warranty policy that covers items up to $10,000. There is a $95 annual fee for this card.

Citi Prestige® Card

While this card doesn't have a promotional financing offer, the Citi Prestige® Card from Citi, a Credit Cards Explained advertiser, offers both valuable rewards and strong purchase protection policies, especially for travelers. Cardholders earn 3x points on air travel and hotel purchases, 2x on dining and entertainment, and 1x on all other purchases. Points are earned in Citi's ThankYou® Rewards program and can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards and travel reservations, or transferred to airline miles or hotel points. Cardholders enjoy damage and theft protection for up to $10,000 per item for 90 days from purchase (120 for New York residents). There is also an extended warranty policy that covers up to $50,000 per calendar year.

This would also be a great card for charging an expensive vacation as you receive trip cancellation and interruption protection, trip delay protection, and coverage for lost or delayed baggage. You even receive $100,000 of medical evacuation coverage in case you become ill or injured on the other side of the world. Other benefits of this card include a $250 annual air travel credit, a $100 statement credit towards the application fee for the Global Entry program, and airport lounge memberships with American Airlines and the Priority Pass Select networks. There is a $450 annual fee for this card but no foreign transaction fees.

If you are signing up for a card in order to earn rewards on a big ticket item, the Discover it® Miles – Unlimited 1.5x Rewards Card card is worth considering. It offers 1.5 miles per dollar spent, but the Match Your Miles program will match your miles earned during the first year, allowing you to earn a total of three miles per dollar spent during your first year as a customer. Miles are worth one cent each as statement credits towards travel expenses, or you can simply redeem them for cash back.

This card offers 14 months of interest free financing on new purchases. After the intro period, the variable purchase APR applies (currently 13.24% - 24.24%). There is no annual fee for this card, and no foreign transaction fees.

Bottom Line

There are several strategies that you can take when choosing a credit card to buy expensive items. If you are planning on paying for the purchase over time then you should consider a credit card with an interest free promotional financing offer. This will allow you to avoid interest charges while you pay off your balance.

Another strategy is to earn the most possible rewards for your large purchases. While the typical rewards card will offer just one point or mile, or one cent in cash back for every dollar spent, it's possible to earn 1.5x or even 2x if you have the right card.

Finally, you should always consider any travel insurance and purchase protection policies offered by your credit card. For instance, an extended warranty policy could add a year to your manufacturer's warranty and a good travel insurance policy will cover your vacation with trip interruption and cancellation insurance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Steele is a one of the leading journalists covering the credit card industry and travel rewards. His work appears at many of the top personal finance websites and is regularly syndicated by mainstream sites such as MSN Money and Yahoo! Finance. Learn more about Jason Steele

EDITORIAL NOTE

Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

Credit Cards Explained may earn affiliate commissions from our partners on this page. These commissions do not affect how we select, rate, or review products. To find out more, read our complete terms of use.

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EDITORIAL NOTE

Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

Credit Cards Explained may earn affiliate commissions from our partners on this page. These commissions do not affect how we select, rate, or review products. To find out more, read our complete terms of use.